Mid-Continent Casualty Co. v. Global Enercom Management, Inc.

The court of appeals correctly determined that the insured contract was executed and that the "subsequent-to-execution" exclusions in the commercial general liability (CGL) policy and commercial auto policy were not triggered as a matter of law. However, the court of appeals erred in holding that the "auto-use" exclusion in the CGL policy did not apply. Texas Supreme Court, No. 09-0744, 10-06-2010

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In this case, we must determine whether two exclusions in insurance policies-”auto use” and “subsequent-to-execution”-preclude coverage for a subcontractor’s workers who fell and died after being hoisted up on a rope through a pulley system by a pickup truck. The subcontracts for which the insurance policies allegedly provided coverage were signed after the work had begun. The trial court and court of appeals held that neither exclusion applied and granted summary judgment to the policyholder, declaring coverage under both policies. 293 S.W.3d 322, 325, 328 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2009, pet. granted). We affirm in part, reverse in part, and render judgment.

The relevant facts are not in dispute. Global Enercom Management, Inc. is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Houston. It constructs and maintains cellular phone towers. Global subcontracted with All States Construction Company to perform repair work on a cell tower located in Arkansas. A provision of Global’s subcontract with All States required All States to indemnify Global for “all acts and omissions of its employees, on the site where the Work is being performed and for all acts and omissions of its subcontractors, agents and vendors….” All States signed and delivered the subcontractor agreement to Global and began work on the project, but Global did not immediately sign the contract.

Mid-Continent Casualty Company is All States’s insurer, and it issued both a commercial general liability policy (CGL) and a commercial auto policy (CAP) to All States. The CGL policy has a limit of $1,000,000 per occurrence, and the CAP has a limit of $100,000 per occurrence. Each policy also provides coverage extending to additional “insured contracts” when All States enters into contracts “pertaining to [its] business” in which All States “assume[s] the tort liability of another to pay for ‘bodily injury’ or ‘property damage’ to a third party or organization,” so long as the liability occurred “subsequent to the execution of the contract or agreement.”

Mid-Continent Casualty Co. v. Global Enercom Management, Inc.

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